Disclaimer:

This is my attempt (and exercise) to prepare myself for discussion in a book club.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to give a speech.

First of all, I need to confess that I am not able to be an objective reader when it comes to "The master and Margarita". I fell in love with this book at a gentle age, so I immersed myself in this fairy tale over 10 times during my life. I would like to assess the complete storyline of the novel. But, I'm afraid it's impossible. Recently, I could verify my inability in practice, when one of my favorite authors’ novel was criticised to shreds by the Russian book club readers. Nevertheless, let's go back to the novel.

When I heard about the upcoming discussion, I realised that what would be most interesting to me are the impressions and comments from people who are encountering this masterpiece for the first time. Additionally, it would be quite informative to get feedback from readers, who have read the book in English. I found that there are three translations. Initially I tried the latest one and it was strange to me. However, you should consider that I am not good at English at all, in order to assess the translation's quality. Then I found the translation, made by a Britisher and his Russian wife. It is much closer to the original in my opinion, however, the complexity of this English often overwhelmed me, even though I remember the content very well.

Even after I became an middle-aged man and after a number of lessons explaining the modern novel's interpretations to me, my perception is still mostly emotional. This book is my way to escape from the reality. I prefer not to know for whom Bulgakov wrote the novel and who Voland is in his intention. Personally, this is the case where I choose to abstract from the history of its creation. I find it more interesting to discuss some ideas and thoughts, expressed by the Master, Voland or Koroviev.